The present invention relates to the field of can openers and, more particularly, to improvements therefor.
The first motorized can openers typically required an operator to depress and hold a cutter blade, via an operating lever, to pierce the can lid and to activate the can opener motor to start the cutting operation. After the can lid was severed from the can, the cutter blade had to be raised from the can to deactivate the can opener motor. Since the operation of this type of can opener depended upon the physical strength and exertion of the user, many people, especially the elderly, desired a can opener which would cause the cutter blade to pierce and sever the can lid without the user having to pierce the can lid and, further, which would automatically shut off after the can lid had been severed from the can.
Automatic can openers of the type described directly above have been available for a number of years. As described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,675,321, automatic can openers typically do not require the can lid to be pierced by the cutter blade to close a motor switch and thereby activate the motor to start the cutting operation. Rather, the motor switch is closed, and the motor activated, when the cutter blade comes into contact with the can lid. The cutter blade is usually oriented in such a way that the rotation of the can forces the cutter blade to pierce the can lid. A cutter control mechanism is operatively associated with the cutter blade such that the force developed between the cutter blade and the can lid as the cutting operation occurs causes the cutter control mechanism to maintain the switch in a closed position. After the lid is severed from the can, the force between the can lid and the cutter blade is reduced. This force reduction is sufficient to cause the cutter control mechanism to open the switch and shut off the motor.
Many prior art automatic can openers, however, require the use of relatively complicated and expensive cutter control mechanisms to provide an automatic shut-off feature. Often, cutter control mechanisms are subject to failures and may require frequent maintenance. Additionally, known can openers do not utilize a cam-operated magnet arm assembly for lifting a severed can lid from a can.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an improved can opener which includes a relatively uncomplicated and inexpensive cutter control.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a cam-operated magnet assembly operative to lift a severed can lid from a can at the same time as the cutter blade is removed from the can.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent during the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.